Automatic valve



July 10, 1923.

P. ROTH AUTOMATIC VALVE Filed July 15v 1922 fadmfla g Patented July 10, 1923.

PEDRO ROTH, 0F BUEhTOS AIRES, ARGENTINA.

AUTOMATIC VALVE.

Application filed July 15, 1922. Serial No. 575,389.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PEDRO Ro'rH, citizen of the Republic of Argentina, residing at 195 25 de Mayo Street, Buenos Alres, Argentina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Valves, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic valves for the airtight sealing of tanks and the like containing liquids which vaporize easily, such as naphtha, alcohol, crude oils and the like; its main object being to provide an automatic valve which keeps such containers normally sealedand which permits'the admission of air and the outlet of vapours in such cases only where it is re uired and in suitable amounts which are so fcontrolled. It is a known fact that in some industries,

more particularly in the petroleum indus-' tries, the loss due to evaporationis very important as the lost products are usually the most valuable ones.

According to my present invention I provide a very simple and automatic device which reduces to a minimum the losses duev to evaporation in tanks containing crude oils,.naphtha, alcohol and the like.

This I obtain by means of a hydraulic.

seal which does not allow the escape of the vapours enclosed in the tankand at the same time avoids the accidental access of air within" the same, when the pressure within the tank exceeds a predetermined limit the es-' cape is automatically produced until the normal pressure is obtained and when the predetermined limit my device acts to allow the necessary amount of air to enter the tank in order to restore the pressure to its normal level.

In order that my present invention be clearly understood and easily carried into practice an embodiment of the same has been illustrated in the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section of an automatic valve according to my present invention.

Figure 2-2, Fig. 1.

The same characters of reference indicate the same or like parts throughout the said drawings.

My device is usually fixed on the roof of the tanks or containers but obviously it may be placed in any other suitable place thereof,

2 is a horizontal section on line In the embodiment shown 1 is the wall which forms the roof of the tank or container and 2 is a vertical pipe through which said container communicates with an outer container or case 3 which envelops and is duly welded to it. 4 is a second pipe which connects the tank 3 with. a second'tank 5 and I I 6 is a pipe from tank 5to the atmosphere. 7 is an opening or a tube of small bore at the bottom of tank 3, which leads to tank 5. 1 My valve device works as follows: In tank 5 and up to a level which is at least higher than the lower opening of tube 4, I introduce a liquid which should be of such freezing point as not to freeze at the lowest normal temperatures in the place where the tank is located and at the same time of difficult evaporation. A thin lubricating oil would be very suitable to this end.

en at any moment, due to the filling of the tank or to the raising of temperature within the same, the pressure of the mixtureof vapours and air above the level of the liquid exceeds the charge corresponding to the difference of levels between 8 and 9, this mixtureescapes through pipe 2 into tank 3, whence it descends by pipe 4 and bubbling through the liquid in'tank 5 passes to the tube. 6 and through the metallic gauze 10 to the atmosphere. As'soon as the normal pressure is re-established the bubbling ceases and the tank is again air tightly sealed.

When on the contrary, on account of emptying the tank or of the cooling of the vapours, the pressure within said tank falls below the normal, the atmospheric pressure will act upon the liquid in tank 5 and will force it to ascend through pipe 4, the liquid being discharged from said pipe into tank 3 and allowing the air to enter through pipes 4 and 2 into the storage tank 1. On the other hand and simultaneously, the liquid now in tank 3 will slowly pass again to tank 5 through-the opening 7, so that said liquid will again seal the lower opening of tube 4 as soon as the normal pressure is restored within the storage tank.

In order that the liquid which is raised in pipe 4 due to the atmospheric pressure may not fall immediately into-the storage tank through pipe 2 a bafiling partition 11 is formed on the top of chamber 3 against which such liquid may impinge on entering said chamber.

Obviously, many construc iona and oth r details may be altered without departing from the scope ofmy present invention as hereinafter claimed.

Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of my present invention and in what manner the same is to be carried into practice, I declare that what I claim 15 1- An automatic hydraulic valve for tanks and the like containing liquids of easy evaporation such as crude oils, naphtha,

alcohols and the like, consisting of a tube communicating at its lower end with a stormenace In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. 25

PEDRO ROTH. 

